Aggressive ADSL pricing from new player

So it's R485 for 10 gig if you get 5x2gig accounts... :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
DblD said:
We have to wake up and realize that LLU is absolutely only key to making any difference on end consumers pocket and for that matter uptake in broadband.
Click to expand...
Full LLU itself will have steep investment costs for ISPs (relative to the market size, see below), so dont think this will provide instant gratification either.

DblD said:
So that leaves us with this. The company that taps in and goes after 40 mil base of end consumers will win this race!
Click to expand...
There is no 40 mil base in this country. Understand there are only 7 mil registered tax paying entities currently, thats individual, companies, the lot. For the bulk of the population (~49 Mil) near term aspirations revolve around the basics inc food, shelter, basic education & transport, broadband is not currently on their radar.
 
Last edited:
Roman4604 said:
Full LLU itself will have steep investment costs for ISPs (relative to the market size, see below), so dont think this will provide instant gratification either.

There is no 40 mil base in this country. Understand there are only 7 mil registered tax paying entities currently, thats individual, companies, the lot. For the bulk of the population (~49 Mil) near term aspirations revolve around the basics inc food, shelter, basic education & transport, broadband is not currently on their radar.
Click to expand...

Precisely what I have said before in other threads. For the overwhelming majority of SA citizens, broadband is not even listed in their hierarchy of needs.
 
Garyvdh said:
Well said, rpm and Cara.

South Africans just love to gripe and moan, and yet they have no idea whatsoever about how to institute consumer action or support the right people. :)

They just go right ahead and support the very people who have been overcharging them all these years.

What do you think Telkom would do if 50% of the ADSL subscribers switched over to Afrihost tomorrow? Then you would see some action on their part.

But until consumers are willing to become more aggressive, they will not see much action in this market.

Come on people. Get off your lazy butts and start supporting the right players. You want change, you gotta make the change.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with rpm and you and others, that we need to take action against ISPs that rip us off...

But, when Afrihost is more expensive, in their "aggressive" launch of their pricing, than another longstanding ISP, like myisp, then should we clap hands, for every ISP that still has prices above the lowest, just because they say they have dropped prices "aggressively"?
 
It does pose the question: Why, if Afrihost can provide ADSL bandwidth at R57 per gig, they still charge R90 per gig for excess bandwidth on their hosting packages? (Although, they are way better than WebAfrica and Hertzner in this regard, who charge R300 and R190 per gig respectively.)
 
Panny_PV7 said:
i recently read in the news that China ISP's have reached a point where there networks are so congested due to all the porn downloads, that they now have No alternative but to start considering introducing Caps..
..so maybe in a way ..we are conditioned for this ?! .. ok bye going now as I know I'm about to get shot down..
Click to expand...

ROTFLMAO! :D

Flouride in the water...Porn allowed but no protests...Capping internet use...

*Has vision of evil tyrants in South Africa...oops...I mean China...oops...I mean Japan, smiling as they keep the population passive...* :)
 
Last edited:
Roman4604 said:
Full LLU itself will have steep investment costs for ISPs (relative to the market size, see below), so dont think this will provide instant gratification either.

There is no 40 mil base in this country. Understand there are only 7 mil registered tax paying entities currently, thats individual, companies, the lot. For the bulk of the population (~49 Mil) near term aspirations revolve around the basics inc food, shelter, basic education & transport, broadband is not currently on their radar.
Click to expand...

moggie said:
Precisely what I have said before in other threads. For the overwhelming majority of SA citizens, broadband is not even listed in their hierarchy of needs.
Click to expand...

No, we should consider the majority, to be merely potential ISP clients.

It is up to the massive 4.6+Million internet users in SA to make it happen.

We are many. We need to speak up.

Year: 2008
Internet Users: 4,590,000
Population: 43,786,115
Pecentage: 10.5 %
http://www.internetworldstats.com/af/za.htm
Click to expand...

Looking at the growth rate on that page, I see about 13% for this year, with a growth curve that implies at the very least, 16% for 2010.

Not to mention the "imminent" pricing restructuring and reductions that will attract many more.
 
89,5 % sounds like a majority to me!

How may of those are currently unemployed?

How many of those that are employed are snowed under by debt?

Broadband is not a priority in their lives.
 
moggie said:
89,5 % sounds like a majority to me!

How may of those are currently unemployed?

How many of those that are employed are snowed under by debt?

Broadband is not a priority in their lives.
Click to expand...

Who cares about that?

When, or even if, those that are still too poor, or lazy, or unemployed, eventually get internet, they will merely add to the number of internet users.

What matters is the miilions that are using the internet, needing to get together and make things happen.

Most importantly, not swallowing b******t about "aggressive" price cuts...
 
PS. I have no debts. No accounts. I owe no one. People owe me thousands and I know how hard it is for them to pay back.

Live within your means. But expect no pity if you don't.
 
Lightscribe said:
PS. I have no debts. No accounts. I owe no one. People owe me thousands and I know how hard it is for them to pay back.

Live within your means. But expect no pity if you don't.
Click to expand...

Cheaper broadband would help everyone live within their means.
 
True. I am aching to be on 4megs. I can easily afford it. But I refuse to pay the prices as they are.

I will gladly pay R600pm for uncapped 384k, as coming soon with Openweb.

I will gladly pay R1000 for uncapped 4megs, when it gets to that price. *Nudge nudge, wink wink, Openweb...*

Untill then, I live within my means also...Dreaming of 4megs...
 
Lightscribe said:
True. I am aching to be on 4megs. I can easily afford it. But I refuse to pay the prices as they are.

I will gladly pay R600pm for uncapped 384k, as coming soon with Openweb.

I will gladly pay R1000 for uncapped 4megs, when it gets to that price. *Nudge nudge, wink wink, Openweb...*

Untill then, I live within my means also...Dreaming of 4megs...
Click to expand...

I wonder what is soon, I feel like I just cannot take all this waiting anymore!:eek:
 
Lightscribe said:
It is up to the massive 4.6+Million internet users in SA to make it happen.
Click to expand...
This number does not have direct relevance to the pricing dynamics of broadband in SA. What does is the number of individual broadband package subscriptions, which by latest research stands at about 1.3 mil.

Regualtory inefficiency aside, market size is by far the biggest determinent of price, and any way you disect it, SA is a pretty small one relative to international norms. What constrains our market size potential is the relative wealth of our population (i.e. disposable income after neccessities), the previous point being made.
 
Drunkard #1 said:
I thought there was a "rental" option available as well. R150k pm for a STM-1 (155 Mbps). This is one area where a small ISP can out maneuver the big guys. While they're paying just R3 / GB, the big guys are pricing their offering based on the R 40 mil you mentioned. The big guy's auditors are going to write that cable investment off in 3 or so years, so when they price their offerings, they're going to be uncompetitive. If a small ISP has the guts to buy a STM 1 (or 4!), he can undercut Telkom, and he'll make a killing until Telkom has written off the cable in their books. But they can't. 'cause they can't sell 50 000 GB of data a month. So we're back where we started. No competition to light a fire under the big guy's asses, and the small guys are just too small to make a difference.
Click to expand...

That R3/Gb is just from Mtunzini to *wherever*... You still have to take into account local bandwidth (Axxess charges R10 per gig local) and depending on what the wholesale price is... a gig could cost you R8/R9. Which is nothing, then with markup etc... That's not taking into account the technical side of it (with which I am woefully uniformed). Figure in salaries, rent and marketing and you have practically the same prices we are paying now. Maybe R10-R25 cheaper if it's a skin-flint company.
 
OK, I haven't read all 8 pages so I don't know if anybody's brought this up yet, but COME ON how is R57 per gig news?

I'm currently paying R53.58 (incl VAT) per gig for a 5 gig cap on Cybersmart. And I have a 4 Mb line (for less than Telkom's price, not sure how they manage that), so it's unshaped bandwidth (Cybersmart's high speed products are all unshaped).

EDIT: btw, this isn't one of those limited, "you only get full speed after hours and lower speeds during the day" accounts. This is a proper ADSL offering. (incidentally, you won't find this package on their website, but I just asked for a 5GB cap and they customized a package for me)

Of course, the catch with Cybersmart is your extra gigs, which cost way more.
But, you could just increase your cap, of course.

Anyway, my point is, who's writing articles about "agressive" price reductions that can't even match current prices? That's just misleading.

So, if anybody's shopping around, this is just another option to look at.
It was by reading threads on this forum and posts like these, that I was able to find the best option for my needs when I was shopping around for ADSL packages.
So hopefully I can help someone else out there.
 
Last edited:
K3NS31 said:
Of course, the catch with Cybersmart is your extra gigs, which cost way more.
But, you could just increase your cap, of course.
Click to expand...

I'm also with cybersmart with a 3gb cap but always end up toping up each month. Are you saying it is possible to be on a 5 or 10gb cap? I've not seen any such offering from them on their site. Its one of the reasons I wanted to move to another ISP.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X